yep. she's a little bit split...

Okay, so I feel bad doing this yet again but if I don't I feel like 'we' might miss out on something cool... 

no sew pencil rolls



I obviously have a case of split-blog syndrome.
So do me a favor, if you like the stuff I'm linking over from my home school blog  dust fairies & darwin then please become a member! 



paper V-day creations





           If nothing else, do it for the pom-poms...

 pom-pom pocket pals



hairy

Last night we took an Audio CD book and Beach's little player out to the hot tub for a family read & soak.  I must have played with Beach's freshly cut hair a little too much because this is most definitely bedhead from hell!

new lows and rotten scoundrels

Oh-boy.  That weekend was that normal sort of strange you get in a blended family.  The boys plan to go shooting (archery not guns).  The mom says, "Can the girl go too?"  Sure & they buy her a little bow at the army navy store minus the arrows.  No arrows. No go shooting.  Okay negated the fact that mom is missing her Sunday date with her gym Buddie so the boys can go, & the fact that Colby was busy with Fish forgetting to get my car from the shop so now it is in time out, and the poor kid got a new bow but can't use it, we are looking for the good.  And the Lady Utes Gymnastic meet broadcast at 11 perfect! The girls make a big bowl of popcorn did some crafts and start watching.  Suddenly enter the boys (what?! already?!?!?!) they take over the sofa and the popcorn....grrrr but we still have our Lady Utes! 

And of course there was that walk with dad and dogs while the potatoes and the roast were cooking for an early Sunday meal before the boys headed for the airport hand off. It went like this walk, walk, walk, one hand on the monkey bars and "we have to go back..."  I think dinner was timed and if it wasn't it should have been because it was a real record breaking consumption.  And they were gone.
Or so we thought.   Turns out after the short walk & play, practically dining and dashing dinner, the flight was over booked.  So here we all are together.  Watching a family movie they picked out: a Kung Fu movie with subtitles- good luck Beach!  I think I'll make cookies for the visually impaired kid sitting under the TV trying to read the rapidly flashing words on the screen.  You know the, newly outed vegetarian whose announcement happened after I defrosted a roast.  She might be hungry. 
For those of you who know Beach you know she eats cookies known as Blanks they are chip-less nut-less chocolate chip cookies.  I carefully make six oatmeal blanks and 2 full cookie sheets of walnut chocolate chip.  "Wow Cookies, thanks!" And I reminded them to please not eat Boo's, that there were easily 2 dozen good cookies in the kitchen.  Everyone was happy...until this morning when I found Boo face full of tears looking at her now empty place of blanks. Those damn boys ate her cookies.  Now you're going to laugh: I called Colby who was standing at the airport to ask him WTH? And he blamed it on the cats. 
I'm telling you if they missed another flight I'm going to suggest they drive to Idaho.
Damn. I love Mondays.....:)

sunday strolling

After weekend full of  'you can come with us next time' & 'because he's older than you' or 'because I can take you any time.' Beach got her dad almost all to herself, minus me & those dogs and a duck or two.

For a sweet Sunday stroll down the river path and on to the playground.

It was only for a little bit... 

 

But every little moment in the sun counts.

~let love shine~

fuzzy fun

Don't miss these little guys on my home schooling blog at dust fairies and darwin.  

unsolved mysteries on the farm

There at two very strange things going on around here...First one was the surprise sudden reported appearance of the step son.  I say reported because although he flew in Thursday night I have literally have not seen more than a passing glance of the back of his head.  Usually it requires and act of congress to arrange visits between households so a one phone call 'come get me from the airport' was a shock. 

Adding to the strangeness he came in Thursday night and went straight to bed, left with his Dad the next morning to work without so much as a grumble about 'having to go'.  Beach and I missed their afternoon farm stop.  When we got home from the ice rink he was off on a late over to a friends.  I was asleep when he got home after missing his curfew by an hour (oops!).  And just now he was asleep as Colby was exiting with Beach heading to gymnastics but suddenly he yelled, "I'm going with them!" and the door slammed.  Really?! I think more than ever there is a story behind this but I'm just the Stepper so I'm going to stay out of it.  Besides I have another mystery to deal with.  I need to figure out where my dog got that bone!!!! Gross....she better not have killed a cow or worse taken it from some homeless guy down by the river.

party on ice

Gym Rats on Ice!

 Boo's great friend and teammate had a birthday party at the local skate rink.

 Get all those gym rats into skates and out on the ice, then oh man get out of the way.

 A skate with the Birthday Girl.  Happy Birthday Tessa!

 Monkey down!

  

 

Wow, imagine finding the two of you together. 

 Thanks for inviting us.  What a wonderful party!

Happy Birthday Tessa!



eye popping history

Probably bad timing on my part,

Salem Witch Trials and googly eyes on the same day..

That's some great hair going on there too!

check 'em out

Don't miss the V-day paper creations over at my home schooling blog Dust Fairies and Darwin.  

boy meets girls

Free Day at the Zoo! 

Peacock standing in the snow under the bird feeder. 

"He's a boy." Beach says. 

"Yep, he sure is." I say looking at the bird feeder and back to the peacock. 

"What do you think he wants?"

 "A Girl!"

great news from the middle

Hiking without happy meals now has a companion blog Dust Fairies and Darwin dedicated to Home Schooling through the middle years.

Plan on seeing more art, science, projects, sewing, plans, classes, good foods, great reads, reviews & hints, Slow Family Living, & of course lots of stories from life with that crazy Beach. 

So check it out.  I would love for you to join us there too at http://dustfairiesanddarwin.blogspot.com/2012/01/welcome.html 

catsoo crazy

The cats around her rank very low on the totem pole.  See I have a strong belief that Men & Woman fall in love, they have kids or dogs or both if they are brave.  And if after all that they have room or mice they get cats. 

Cats are merely work animals...unless they are so lazy that while you make your bed you can cover them with the down comforter & they do nothing about it.  This lazy good for nothing is loved by a little kid who happened by and made him a tent.

Oh to be a cat unconditionally loved by a child.

the heart & soul of why I homeschool

The subject is art but it could have been anything. 

It is 9 am on a Sunday morning.  I'm sick & she is still in pajamas.

We pile into my bed to read. 

I have a standing date to meet my gym buddy at the gym at 10. 

I thought of not going but realized I would feel worse if I missed her.

 An hour in bed reading is perfect before I go.

An hour that rushes by, the whole time spent in one book about art.

She picks what she likes & asks me to show her the ones I like best. 

I sneak in the information I think she needs reading the names & styles so they become familiar to her.

"I can't live without this one, mom," she says about a Monet 

& a few pages later again this time about a Miro.

I see the clock 9:58- shit! I have to go.  I am scrambling to find my gym clothes.

"Mom, can I keep on reading?"

"Of course you can."

Boo-Whew

Last Sunday at the library we spied this lovely cardboard castle atop one of the bookcases.  We should make that Beach had said so we did.  We didn't announce it would be a haunted castle we just knew it would be.  All our castles are haunted!

What happened when the ghost asked for a whiskey at his local bar?
The bartender said "Sorry sir, we don't serve spirits here"!

Why did the cannibal live on his own?
He was fed up with other people!

Why does Dracula have no friends?
Because he's a pain in the neck!

Why did the witch go over the mountain?
Because she couldn't go under it!

What do demons have on holiday?
A devil of a time!

Why didn't the skeleton go to the party?
He had no body to go with!

(...sorry about the bad jokes I'm running a pretty good fever this morning!)